Giants Head Coach Joe Judge – Postgame Press Conference – October 4, 2020

(Opening Remarks)
Obviously, we came up a little short today. I’m proud of the way our guys fought, I’m proud of the way they played. We have to make sure we clean up and eliminate some mistakes and keep making more positive plays going down the stretch. I’m proud of the way they fought. They are an improved team from last week, and I’m proud of how they worked last week, I’m proud of the improvement they made. We have to keep pushing on and making strides going forward. Obviously, we’re going through a little tough stretch right now with the division, so we can’t afford to make these mistakes. Obviously, we’re anxious already to get back on the grass and start working. We will start immediately with watching the tape tonight as coaches, improve what we can, then we’ll fly back tomorrow and get with the team on Wednesday.”

(On his reaction to the fight with WR Golden Tate III and CB Jalen Ramsey after the game)
“I have to see and find out all the details. I don’t have anything right there, not yet anyway. Obviously, we want to do our fighting between the whistles for 60 minutes. I don’t know all the details, so I am going to hold and reserve comment on that until I find out everything.”

(On the decision to punt on the fourth-and-4 with 10 minutes left)
“Yeah, we were playing good defense, we had field position and we wanted to win right there, put them on back there – I thought it was a good time to put the ball to our defense and let them play.”

(On how he builds on an effort like this going forward)
“The same way we build every week. You go in there, you show them the tape, you show the evidence of what we did right to make improvements, you show them what happened wrong that we have to clean up, and then you shift your focus to the next opponent. You have to keep on moving – you can’t ride a roller coaster in this league. It’s a long season, there’s a lot of ball to be played. Like I said, we are an improved team from last week. I’m proud of the way the guys worked the entire week. I’m proud of how they fought today. We have to make sure we don’t have self-inflicted wounds that stop us from having the wins we need.”

(On what he thinks is stopping his offense from getting in the end zone)
“I have to go ahead and look at all the tape. I was proud of the way they moved the ball today on that. I thought we were more balanced. When we had to run the ball at the end of the game, we were able to make some chunk runs. We threw the ball in tough situations, had to make some passes. We stuck with the plan throughout the game, so we have to obviously take a look at that. Any adjustment we have to make, we will. But today it was a different situation. We just stuck with the plan.”

(On how much Giants DB Adrian Colbert helped as his free safety, and how it was to lose him on the touchdown play)
“I think ‘AC’ did a good job for the most part in the game. Obviously, I have to look at the tape and kind of dissect every play. But, he came out, he played a good game, (Giants S) Julian (Love) went back in there – we have a lot of faith in Julian as well. So look – all the guys that come to the game for us, they’re all going to play. Everyone’s got a role in every game. So, whoever’s in there has to be accountable for the plays on the field.”

(On the offense scoring three touchdowns in four games, and what makes him think his team can improve offensively based on what he’s seen so far)
“Yeah, the focus is going back to work right now and doing everything we can to match against the opponents going forward. We have to build on what we have and who we have available, and we have to make sure we put them in the best situation to be successful.”

(On if he saw what went wrong on the touchdown from WR Cooper Kupp, and if there was a miscommunication)
“Obviously anytime that there’s a touchdown, nothing went exactly right, so we’ve got to look and make sure we identify the breakdown correct it going forward.”

(On if he talked to QB Daniel Jones about the last throw and if he thought he could have run there with the timeout in his pocket)
“Again, obviously it’s easy on the sideline or to watch it on TV, than different what he may see in his own eyes. We’ll go through the tape collectively with the team tomorrow morning before we take off and head back to New Jersey, but I haven’t spoken to Daniel specifically just yet about that.”

(On if he thinks this season starts next week against the Dallas Cowboys because the way the division is lined up)
“I think it’s important for us next week as we start our division run that we play our best football.”

(On what he thought of the play from his offensive line, and if he felt they got better, and if QB Daniel Jones and the receivers are contributing to the pressure)
“Well first off, there’s never one person who’s responsible for everything, ok? It’s a team game. All the pieces have to fit together and everything complements each other. In terms specifically to the offensive line, I did see an improved unit this week. I think these guys are getting better overall. You play a team like the Rams, who have an outstanding pass rush. You just can’t lose your mind when they make plays. You have to move on to the next play and keep pushing forward to be productive. That being said, we have to eliminate some of the easy plays we made for them early in the game. When it came down the stretch, I liked the way the offensive line really played and stood in there. I thought they held up for the most part against a very stout rush. Obviously not enough to take some of the production off the line that the Rams have, but you play good defense like the Rams, they’re going to make some plays too.”

(On Jones’ interception at the end of the game was concerning to him considering he has 17 interceptions)
“Again, I have to look at the tape a little bit more specifically before we talk to the players and figure out everything that happened in those last plays. But again, we’re building more of our team going forward. We have confidence in our players and we have to keep working to put them in positions to be successful.”

(On why T Cameron Fleming replaced T Matt Peart to start the second half)
“We’re just going to play all the guys who are at the game. So, there’s really nothing that happened in the game that dictated anything that we did substitution wise on either side of the ball. We go in every game, we take guys at the game, we have a plan for how we’re going to use them. Maybe it’s situationally in a certain substitution package or for a certain play and maybe just want to get them out there and get them a couple of series under the belt. You know, these are young guys. Obviously, they didn’t have a preseason to really gain experience. So, we have to build them then throughout the season and I’ve used them selectively to give them some experience on the field.”

(On if there was any thought to keeping Peart out there)
“I’ll have to take a look at everything that happened right there. But look, we’re going to look to use all of our players, every game, you know, where everything is the best chance for us to be successful.”

(On his thoughts about having 11.75 points per game through four weeks)
“I say we have to keep improving. Right now, our defense is doing some good things out there, we have to keep improving in the kicking game. Offensively, I like some of the things you saw down the stretch…We have to get the ball to the end zone more, but we just have to keep pushing on forward, keep making corrections and adjustments, and getting better as you go down the stretch.”

(On if there was a concern going into this week given Tate and Ramsey’s history)
“(WR) Golden (Tate) is a competitive guy. We talk to all of our players every week about different things. I’ll keep some of the conversations between our players, just between me and the players. We don’t want to have happen again at the end of the game what had happened. That’s not the way we want to be as a team. I don’t know all the details yet. I have to look into that more before I really have any comments to make on it.”

(On was there a conversation with Tate about Ramsey prior to the game)
“Again, I’d like to keep those conversations between me and Golden (Tate) or me and any of the players. We have conversations on going into the game. I respect the question; I understand fully where you’re coming from. I just have to keep certain things protected with me and the team.”

(On trusting the defense in the two fourth-down situations where he chose to punt)
“It’s just the best decision we thought at the time for the team. Our defense was playing good. You know, we’re winning the field position. You want to put them on down on a long field and let our defense play. I think we’ve gone for it on enough fourth downs. We’re not afraid to go for it at the right time, but I have to call it based on what I think is best for the team at that time.”

(On the positives he saw from the defenses play)
“Look, I love the way our defense is playing right now. Obviously third downs has a big emphasis for us as a team, they improved on that today. You know, they’ve been a good early down defense as well. I like the way our front plays, our backends are improving on a weekly basis. We have good energy. We’re getting great communication across the board thing. I think ‘Pat’ (Defensive Coordinator Patrick Graham) and his staff are doing a great job calling this right here. I’m proud of the way the guys work every week to improve and get better and I like the way they fought today.”

(On if there was an emphasis on physical play and what he saw from his third corner, CB Ryan Lewis today)
“I’d say first, forget about depth charts, anyone who is at the game is going to play for us. So, whether we look at them as a first, second, third, whatever, if you’re at the game you’re expected to play. We don’t hold a lot of value on so-called depth charts. If you’re at the game, you’re there to play. So that’s really not important to us as a team. I would say in terms of the physicality – yeah, we put a big emphasis on being a physical team. I’ve said that from day one, that shouldn’t be a surprise to anybody. You know, we want to be a tough, physical team and that’s our style of coaching. That’s our style of playing. That’s what we have to be collectively as a team.”